| Summary: | Lack of cereal nutritional water productivity (NWP) information disadvantages linkages of nutrition to water–food nexus as staple food crops in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study determined the suitability of sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i> L. Moench) genotypes to alleviate protein, Zn and Fe deficiency under water-scarce dryland conditions through evaluation of NWP. Sorghum genotypes (Macia, Ujiba, PAN8816, IsiZulu) NWP was quantified from three planting seasons for various sorghum seed nutrients under dryland semi-arid conditions. Seasons by genotypes interaction highly and significantly affected NWP<sub>Starch, Ca, Cu, Fe</sub>, and significantly affected NWP<sub>Mg, K, Na, P, Zn</sub>. Genotypic variations highly and significantly affected sorghum NWP<sub>Protein, Mn</sub>. Macia exhibited statistically superior NWP<sub>protein</sub> (13.2–14.6 kg·m<sup>−3</sup>) and NWP<sub>Zn</sub> (2.0–2.6 g·m<sup>−3</sup>) compared to other tested genotypes, while Macia NWP<sub>Fe</sub> (2.6–2.7 g·m<sup>−3</sup>) was considerably inferior to that of Ujiba and IsiZulu landraces under increased water scarcity. Excellent overall NWP<sub>protein, Fe and Zn</sub> under water scarcity make Macia a well-rounded genotype suitable to alleviating food and nutritional insecurity challenges in semi-arid SSA; however, landraces are viable alternatives with limited NWP<sub>protein and Zn</sub> penalty under water-limited conditions. These results underline genotype selection as a vital tool in improving “nutrition per drop” in semi-arid regions.
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